This invention relates to food formulations and more particularly to formulations for red chili sauce for use in seasoning foods. In the style of food known as “Tex-Mex” the red chili sauce is commonly known as “chili gravy.” The traditional method for preparing this sauce involves first preparing a “roux,” also called “fried flour roux” by mixing wheat flour with lard or cooking oil, salt and other seasonings, and frying the mixture until it achieves a uniform brown color. The exact temperature and time used, and the final degree of browning, are matters of personal preference and may vary significantly among persons preparing the sauce.
Currently no commercial chili gravy products are available to consumers, and individuals who want to prepare such a red pepper sauce must follow a process that includes the above-mentioned frying step. Consumers who desire a particular type of red pepper sauce known as “chili gravy” must prepare this sauce themselves from basic ingredients, using a labor-intensive method to obtain the proper flavor. Although some commercially available foods contain chili gravy, this sauce is not available separately for use in home cooking.
There are many recipes for red chili sauce, and dry mixes thereof which can be made into a sauce by adding water and broth. The broth is often beef or chicken broth but other liquids have been used. All of the previous recipes are based primarily on fried flour roux, which is comprised of oil or lard, white or wheat flour which includes gluten, salt, and spices and browning in a pan to a desired color, followed by adding red chili, water, and broth. Such prior traditional red chili formulas require a hand processing step, which makes it inconvenient to prepare such recipes. Furthermore, such traditional formulations can not be bottled as a liquid sauce which can be merely heated and used. Consumers who desire a particular type of red pepper sauce known as “chili gravy” must prepare this sauce themselves from basic ingredients, using a labor-intensive method to obtain the proper flavor. Although some commercially available foods contain chili gravy, this sauce is not available separately for use in home cooking. The present invention solves this problem with a combination of dry ingredients that simulates the flavor, color, and texture of wheat flour roux fried in oil, eliminating the most labor-intensive step in preparing chili gravy, and making possible the production of a dry mix with a much simpler preparation process.
It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the hand processing step required by traditional red chili formulas and recipes.
It is another object to provide a red chili sauce in liquid form which can be bottled. Another object is to provide a red chili sauce dry formula which can be stored for a period, packaged, and reconstituted by an end user at time of use.
It is another object of the invention to provide a process of preparing a red chili sauce without a frying step.
A further object is to provide a bottled formulation of red chili sauce.
An additional object is to mix the ingredients and add liquid such as water and/or broth, then bottling to store for future use.